This invention relates to an object detection system and device, and in particular, to a system and device for detecting the presence of objects in a storage area of a shopping cart.
Shopping carts used in supermarkets generally have storage areas for storing goods which are to be purchased or which have been purchased and are being transported to the exit or parking lot. Shopping carts generally have an upper storage area and a lower storage area located under the upper storage area. The lower storage area is typically used to hold large or heavy items and generally comprises a tray of some kind for easy placement and removal of large and/or heavy items.
One difficulty with shopping carts in general is that as a consumer takes the shopping cart through the checkout aisle, either through inadvertence or intentionally, not all of the goods in the storage areas, particularly the lower storage area, of the shopping cart are brought to the cashier's attention. Accordingly, this leads to some goods not being paid for and the supermarket or grocery store suffering a loss.
In the past, several devices or systems have been used to attempt to detect the presence of objects in the storage areas of shopping carts. In order to accomplish this, some prior art devices have utilized the face that the weight of objects located in the storage sections, and in particular the lower storage section, deflects the tray which forms the lower storage section. These prior art devices utilized devices, such as reflectors, attached to the lower section tray such that a deflection of the lower tray caused by the weight of the object located thereon would move the reflector and be noticed by a sensor located at the checkout counter.
Other prior art devices have detected objects on shopping carts by scanning the storage sections of the shopping carts. However, these prior art devices also required that a triggering device, such a reflector, be applied to each and every shopping cart belonging to a grocery store or supermarket. The reflector in these prior art devices served essentially two functions. Firstly, the reflector permitted these prior art devices to distinguish between shopping carts and other items, such as baby strollers and people, passing in front of the prior art devices. This prevented the prior device from scanning objects other than shopping carts and thereby creating false readings if objects other than goods were detected. Secondly, the reflector permitted the prior art devices to initiate scanning of the shopping cart at the proper time, namely when the shopping cart was properly oriented in front of the scanning device. Furthermore, in some prior art devices, the reflector even helped determine the duration of the scan.
It is apparent that if a monitoring system requires reflectors, or other devices to be placed on each and every shopping cart belonging to a grocery store in order for the monitoring systems to operate, there would be substantial labour and material cost involved in implementing and installing these prior art devices in a grocery store. Furthermore, any changes made to the shopping carts would be readily apparent to consumers. Accordingly, if it is the intention of a consumer to leave the supermarket or grocery store without paying for certain goods, the consumer could attempt to defeat the detection system once the consumer is alerted to its presence.